


Like a Country Song

by Tezca



Category: Country Music RPF, The Apprentice RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 19:41:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2122302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tezca/pseuds/Tezca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Celebrity Apprentice changed their lives bittersweetly</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a Country Song

It had been the end to another hectic day in the already hectic show. It was the fifth week of the season and already Marlee wanted to take a two week vacation before coming. The amount of stress she felt during the whole challenge especially at the end contributed to that feeling, and being project manager obviously didn’t help at all There wasn’t a moment in her life where she loathed traffic more. But despite the minor setback, she and her group won. 

She knew why they won, they did raised the most money, but she couldn’t help but have a part of her think it was just dumb luck. They weren’t able to set up the gallery before the dealing and had to ask for a 20 minute extension and they still ended up winning. No it wasn’t dumb luck logically, but she knew sometimes the mind can be irrational and it just seemed sorta crazy that she ended up bringing her group from the brink of yet another lost to winning that week’s challenge. 

She still wanted a drink afterwards, she felt like she deserved one so she excused herself from her group’s room with the excuse that she was just extra tired from being project manager. Which was true for the most part, it did put a lot of stress on her and though she wasn’t expecting an easy ride, she didn’t think they would end up cutting it so close there. She thought they would’ve ended up having to forfeit or something because of the stupid NYC traffic. Traffic was of course to be counted for and she did factored it in(who would be dumb enough to not account for something as major as traffic), but she was hoping it would be as smooth as the boy’s experience. 

She just wanted to have a drink or two to unwind and forget for a couple of hours that she was a celebrity competing in the show Celebrity Apprentice. She walked out of Trump Towers and hailed a cab back to the hotel. The last few weeks have taken quite a bit out of her enough for her to feel worn out and she wasn’t the only one. She thought John looked tired when she looked into his eyes earlier in the boarding room, he was project manager for his group so she assumed he felt similar stress as she did. Lucky he didn’t have to deal with the traffic as much she thought.

She made it back to her room and told her interpreter that she was going to get a drink after changing into casual clothes. He offered to come with and help out as a friend, but was told that she was fine. She wanted to be alone anyways and blend in. Well alone for the most part, she wouldn’t mind having a drink with John as deep down she have been having troubling feelings towards him. Troubling feelings that meant she was starting to have a crush on him and she knew that wasn’t good at all due to her being married with kids and John being married with kids. 

Unbeknownst to her John had been noticing the same worrying sparks flying everytime he saw her. At first he just dismissed it and ignored it, knowing it was never good to cheat, no matter how much inspiration he would get for a good old fashioned country song should he do so. He was a loyal husband to his wife and had children, plus he was raised to know that cheating never brings anything good to the table. Both he and Marlee were loyal partners to their spouses.

But for the two of them they felt more and more attraction flying between them every time they were in the boardroom and any other time they happened to run into each other. They were both lucky that the other cast members were too engrossed in the competition to really notice the signs their eyes were making and their subtle facial expressions. Not even Lil Jon, who was John’s friend on the show, and Marlee’s interpreter, whom she knew for years now. Another factor contributing to the whole thing being kept in the closet was the fact that they didn’t make a big deal out of it and they both knew how to look and act professional enough to hide what they feeling at the moment.

The biggest temptation however to just break character, smile and giggle like two lovestruck teens had just passed. Those morons, Marlee thought, just had to place them right next to each other. She couldn’t keep her gaze on John without wanting to be sucked into his lovely blue eyes of his and just forget about anything else. Same goes for John and they could only keep the gaze locked on each other long enough for a polite, businesslike duration. All in all they both did a good job of just focusing on the competition and their charities, instead relegating their social issue to the back of their mind.

Marlee had just put on a black hoodie and her hair in a ponytail before seeing her phone recieve a text message on her bed, she then grabbed her phone to read it wondering if maybe it was her interpreter and he forgotten to tell her something or left something in her room. That didn’t seem likely however and her immediate second guess was John. She grabbed her baseball cap she brought along with her for the sole purpose of disguise. She put it on before she peered through the peephole and her guess was right, it was John and he was holding up a notepad with the words. “Hey you looked like you needed a drink earlier and I sure as hell could use one right now…allow me to buy you a round?”

Marlee then unlocked the door and opened it, John was wearing a solid colored t-shirt with a colorful red and blue flannel over it with jeans, an outfit that was perfect for blending into normal society and not get hounded by fans. She smiled happily and John handed her what appeared to be the hotel stationary and a pen so she could write down her reply. She understood and so did he that their phones and the notepad would have to be their way to communicate. John was the only one she felt on the show that gave her the respect she deserved and actually paid attention to her when she was speaking. Perhaps it was those tiny details that attracted her to John, some of the people in her group didn’t really act as nice as they could’ve been if she was all 100 percent hearing. She was surprised at their reactions and on the other side of things was surprised at John for actually paying attention to her and not talking down on her like one certain singing legend on her group..Plus he just been an overall sweetie to her and was there for the same reason she was. That earned a spot on her list of guys she respected.

She wrote yes on the notepad and John smiled, He then put a hand on the small of her back and led the way to the elevator where they rode in silence. John motioned for the notepad and Marlee handed it to him. John proceeded to write down a suggestion for bar a few blocks away and Marlee nodded, any bar is fine with her as long as John was with her. In another time and place she would date him and possibly even marry him.

Once at the bar about 30 minutes later, they were sitting next to each other having just ordered some beer. John had put the notepad aside in favor of his phone, they both figured they could just text each other. To the other people they would just look like to average New Yorkers chatting away on their phone.

They both picked up their phones and then paused for a couple of unsure seconds as to who was going to start off the conversation. John was the one that ended up making the first text.

‘Congratulations on the win! I’ll be honest I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with you guys cause of the traffic and all’ John then pressed send and waiting for the reply.

‘Yeah me either. God I never fucking hated traffic more in my life lol’

‘Haha yeah, I rather be anywhere reasonable then stuck at traffic. Even eating squirrel stew at the Alphin farmhouse.’

‘Eww lol wait, your friend ate squirrel?’

‘Used to. Thank the Lord haha :)’

Marlee cracked a smile and let out a giggled that made John smile in return as she replied, ‘Hahaha’

‘Why don’t you come on down to Texas and I’ll show you real food haha'

‘And I though Illinois had the most real food lol :P’

The two chuckled before falling into a comfortable silence between them. They both were planning on not bringing up their feelings for each other, but as the two faced each other they could feel the attraction pulling them together even stronger. Evidently willing it away wasn’t going to work and they both were finding all the little facial expressions and the looks they would send either other’s way the cutest and most adorable thing in the world. The best course of action was to probably at least address it, no matter how awkward it would be. They both could tell that the other had something on their mind and wanting to confess.

‘This feels wrong, you’re happily married with kids and so am I’ Marlee was the one that started this time, she knew what was on John’s mind and vice versa.

John paused for a second or two to think of the best reply as he took a drink before texting back, ‘You and I both feel that way. I can’t help it though and its just so hard to get rid of these damn feelings Marlee.’

John would face Marlee to see her reaction. She put on a sober look on her face, ‘Maybe this show was a bad idea, I mean there are other ways to raise money for charity and...these stupid feelings are just making everything complicated than it should be’

John nodded softly in agreement with the last part, ‘No this show was a good idea for both of us...its just would sure as hell be easier if we didn’t have this spark starting up with us.’

‘I agree, we’re better off as friends rationally. Good inspiration for a country song though lol’

John chuckled softly as he faced Marlee, struck by just how beautiful she looks, mix that with the personality she got and John was was finding it hard to ignore those feelings. He just wanted to kiss her and make love to her. It was safe to say Marlee was feeling the same way due to the look she was giving him. They both knew deep down that this would be wrong and could very well screw up their lives and their career. They didn’t want to do that to each other, potentially destroying each other’s reputation. What would everyone think of them if they did? 

‘My mind says no, but my attraction for you tell me otherwise. I would assume you’re conflicted to.’ John texted after 3 minutes of silence. Marlee look up at him once she read the message before making a reply, having gotten the meaning behind those words.

‘We can’t cheat John. It’ll fuck up everything. We’re both married with kids and our careers..”

‘You’re right, you’re right. Totally bad idea...’ John quickly said as he and Marlee then faced each other for a minute, ‘Then again tonight would be perfect….everyone is either asleep or out partying. I think mostly the latter though.;

‘Probably is the latter’ Marlee said in the text to John before she looked at him. She knew would be taking a huge risk with this and John knew the same, They both yearned for each other’s touch to put it simply, ‘We cannot tell a fucking soul about this and we have to delete the texts from tonight.’

‘I’ll take us someone more secluded, take my hand.’ John texted before he put his hand out for Marlee to grab. She had hesitated for a second before just giving in, knowing she wanted this as badly as John did despite all reasoning. The two then walked out of the bar and John led Marlee down the down, practically running now as they both want to satisfy their urges before it overtook their minds completely. About 10 minutes later John found an alley up ahead and took her down deep enough into the dark narrow path between two buildings where no one could see them with a passing glance.

It was Marlee that initiated the kiss, she wrapped her around John’s neck and leaned in for a deep, long wanting kiss. John eagerly kissed back, putting an arm around her back and bringing her into his comfortable hold as he backed up against the all. His other hand was on the back of her neck as he moaned in the heat of the moment. 

The two finally broke to regain their breath and Marlee rested her head on John’s shoulder as he slipped his hand underneath her shirt and began lightly rubbing the skin of her back. The sensation of John’s touch on her caused her to want more and John then maneuvered so it was Marlee up against the wall and John trying to unhook her bra.

She made it easy on the country singer by taking off her jacket and he quickly went to work on unhooking her bra while she was lightly sucking and leaving kisses on his neck. John finally succeeded and Marlee got her bra out from underneath before she resumed kissing and gripping John under his shirt. Her eyes widen in the sudden pleasant sensation of John massaging her breasts gently. It caused her to melt into his hold and and moan from the love that was washing over her. She kept kissing him as she felt her arousal growing. The same could be said for John as he could feel his pants getting tighter and the moans that elicited from her was driving him wild. 

Truth be told the passionate moment was driving them both crazy and the two were pressing up against each other. John then brought one of his down along her stomach towards the edge of her pants before quickly grabbing his phone and writing up a message. Marlee was resting her head on his shoulder again and sucking at the skin on his neck before she saw what John had written. It was quite obviously that both of them were wanting this and therefore consenting, but he wanted to be sure so he asked her how far she wanted to go.

Marlee didn’t hesitate to write back a reply on the phone, ‘Fuck me cowboy!’ and thats when it got really heated in the passionate sense with John pressing up against Marlee as he loosen her jeans and slipped his hand in. Soon they both found themselves laying on the ground on top of both of their jackets. Marlee was on top of John’s chest with his arms around her, both panting with sweat in the aftermath. 

They were both content on being like this for a little while until they really had to go back lest they want suspicions to rise. They both wanted to savor the moment and pretend they were young single lovers that just fucked each other in a dark alleyway. John then grabbed his phone at the same time Marlee grabbed her phone when fell out in the process of lovemaking. 

They ended up texting the same confession to each other that they felt like they were falling in love with each other and agreed that that was worrying. They ended up laying there in silence and just looked up at the stars through the partly cloudy sky.

‘Tomorrow we have to go back to our normal professional selves and.our normal lives.’ John texted and Marlee could swear she could feel the sad resignation coming off from the tiny screen, ‘We have to act like nothing like this ever happened at all.”

‘Yeah, don’t worry I’m a good actress.’ Marlee replied before they got back up and put the rest of their clothes on.

‘And I’m a good enough actor to pull this off...we have to keep this a secret for the rest of our lives...frankly a part of me hates that we can’t go any further but..’

‘Yeah me too. Fuck reality.’

John chuckled, ‘You got that damn right sister. ‘I’ll take you back to the hotel, I have to say despite everything else that you are amazing.’ John complimented in the text which caused Marlee to blush red and smile. 

‘So were you cowboy :)’ 

The two eventually got to their rooms and eventually laid in their bed looking at the ceiling with the dejected realization that because of their circumstances, they couldn’t go any further. They both knew that it would be best to stay friends and pretend this night never happened. It pained both of them of course, but to pursue their hearts for each other would be to kill their careers and everything they have built up to this point. They knew by the time they wake up they would be arriving back in reality.

So they went on and pretended that nothing happened over the course of the next few weeks, focusing solely on the competition. They have however let a few stray thoughts run through their heads every now and then, but was quickly pushed out of the forefront of their mind enough to not distract them from the task at hand. Both of them obviously didn’t want to be fired, but they realized the pro that if one of them were to be fired before the finals then it’ll be less chance of the other person being distracted.

Every week when they saw each other in the boardroom they managed to suppress the attraction they would have every time they looked at each other. It was pretty easy for the both of them, all they had to do was to remind themselves mentally that they were there to raise money. And they seemed to remind each other as well when they read each other’s facial expressions for the split second they looked at one another. Soon, however, they found themselves as rivals in the finals, secretly they were hoping the other would be fired because of what they did, but apparently life had other plans for the two and here they are.

Life can be funnily cruel like this and Marlee and John now have to really make sure they don’t make the slightest slip up that could be viewed as something more between them. They wanted to keep everything strictly business like. They made it through the finals and then several years beyond that without an incident. They went on with their lives with the contented feeling that they would be just friends who just had a little fun one night in a secluded area in New York City.

It wasn’t until years later when things started to go straight to hell. It was 2014, John was on tour with Kenny and Marlee was working on a tv show. It had been three years and by this point they were both able to largely ignore the memories of what they did that one night as being apart had helped to quell the feelings enough to push it back to the back parts of their memories. Now it was only whenever there was an exceptionally starry sky that the memory of the night would slip to the front of their minds which would cause them to have that longing feel again for each other. They have gotten good at willing it away whenever it came up, reminding themselves to just totally forget about what happened. 

It all started with a text to John while the bus was going down the road to the boys next gig, John was on the couch watching TV while Kenny was at the table writing another song. He had been sitting on the couch just a minute ago, but he had a outburst of creativity for a song that was itching to get out. John picked up the phone to read the text with the thought that it was just gonna be like all the other text messages he would mostly get, but what he read cause a sense of dread washing over him, his heart suddenly beating faster and the color draining from his face.

It was from Marlee asking to be picked up in the next town they were going to then explaining it with a short, “I’m single now or will be in a few months.”. John stared at the message for a good minute before asking her what happened? In the back of his mind he knew most likely it was because her husband found out about the little mistake she did, but most of his thoughts were wishful thinking that it was something else. It just had to be right? There was another reason for why he kicked her out cause he knew Marlee wouldn’t let a secret this big slip. 

‘Oh god...please don’t tell me its cause of what I’m thinking?’ John texted back, he could feel his hands getting sweaty now. 

‘Someone send a video to him just a week ago and we agree that I should just move out with my stuff as soon as possible.”

‘Oh shit, shit….do you know who fucking send the video Marlee?’

‘No, apparently some random asshole who happened to be there at the right time with a stupid camera phone.’

John’s mind was reeling at a thousand miles per hour, wondering now what do now since most likely this is going to go public if he had to take a rational guess. He knew how the celeb business works and so does Marlee, once they catch wind of something like this there is no stopping it from getting worse, no stopping media and public frenzy over something like this. Plus they could kiss their reputations good bye now pretty much. The next text that Marlee sent confirm his biggest fear. She said that the guy who end the video was planning on leaking it to TMZ in the next few days so enjoy the last few days of privacy. 

John felt a surge of adrenaline go over him as he felt the most gut wrenching panic he ever felt in his life. He could feel himself getting more hot and sweaty inside and he didn’t even notice Kenny was now looking at him with a worried look on his face. 

“John? Is something wrong?” Kenny asked in a concerned voice, John just looked up and quickly shook his head and reassured him everything was fine, Perhaps a bit too quickly as he darted his eyes up, blinking and darting to the left as his gaze stayed on Kenny for a second before going back to the screen and started typing.

‘Marlee where are you now?’

‘I’m in Deadwood I just flew in this morning.’

John just read the reply when Kenny’s voice cut through the air again, “John you’re acting like you’re holding something from me…”

“What makes you think that?” John said defensively, his voice raised a bit.

“Because I known you for over ten years John, I know how you act when you don’t want to admit to something....”

“Its..its nothing really...its...Marlee just needs to be picked up in Deadwood thats all…”

Kenny had his full attention on John by now,“Why?”

“Because….I don’t know I…” John signed shamefully of himself, he didn’t want to lie to his best friend, especially on something this big. If he lied then Kenny would find out the truth soon enough anyways and he’ll be even more angry at him then. He didn’t want Kenny to find out from the news that he had cheated. John then ended up looking down at the ground before he confessed, “We both made a mistake Kenneth.”

It only took Kenny a couple of seconds to connect the dots inside his mind and immediately got up to usher John into the bedroom for more privacy. He didn’t want the driver to hear their conversation. 

“What do you mean by mistake exactly?” Kenny asked again as soon as he closed the door, he had a bad feeling in this gut of what John and Marlee did, but he wanted to hear John’s answer. 

“We um...we screwed each other in an alleyway at night…” John said, daring to look up at Kenny for a second. 

Kenny stood there feeling a shock that John would even go down to this level, but no matter the disappointment he feels about the situation, he would still be a supportive friend, “You what?!”

Kenny’s voice was enough to make John cringe a bit, he knew he wouldn’t be too happy with this news, he was expecting he would react this way, “We cheated Kenny and we both knew it was wrong but...I don’t know it just happened.”

“Like hell it is wrong! John when did you two do this...was it during Celebrity Apprentice?”

John didn’t say anything at first as he was looking everywhere but Kenny. He didn’t need to look at him to know the expression on his face would be, he can hear the disappointment in his voice loud and clear. He was feeling pretty guilty about all of this, scratch that a whole lotta guilt about what he and Marlee did. If he could stop this thing from rolling downhill he could and fix everything, but he knows that's an unrealistic goal and the moment it hits the publics his and Marlee’s life will be different.

“Yeah, it was….between the fifth and sixth episode.” 

Kenny was pacing the floor a bit with his hands in his hair as he thought of the best course of action to take. After a minute though he stopped to face John, hw hasn’t really thought of anything yet except picking up Marlee first thing they arrive at Deadwood, “So Marlee being in Deadwood has to do with this I take it…”

John could only nod and explain how someone filmed the two of them running into the alleyway and send the video to her husband just a few weeks ago. Kenny leaned up against up the door and sighed in exasperation as he closed his eyes, this wasn’t going to be good on any level. Only question now is when it will hit the media and Kenny would get an answer to that soon as he noticed John looking at his phone with a horrified look on his face. 

“Oh shit...um..Kenny we’re officially screwed,” John started saying as he gave the phone over to Kenny, “We’re fucking screwed man.”

Kenny looked at the text message that Marlee had sent with a link to the article about the cheating they both did. Kenny clicked on the link and skimmed the article before looking at John with disapproval in his eyes, “Did you two ever stop to realize that maybe fucking each other would perhaps screw up your reputation?! This is the most idiotic thing you ever did John.”

“I know Kenny and we both knew it was wrong honestly…”

“And yet you two still did it…John Daniel Rich what were you thinking?” Kenny asked, butting in with a tone a bit like if John was his son/younger brother rather than just his friend. Somedays it sure felt that way to him as John was the kind of person that would make impulsive decisions that would sometimes lead to a long talk about how it was stupid of him to do so and he should know better. John knew Kenny did that because he cared for him and would always support him no matter what idiotic thing the younger man from Texas did.

John wisely kept his mouth closed as Kenny took a breath to calm him down a bit and faced him, “You do realize I’m being easy on you and more supportive compared to how your dad and your wife going to react?”

There was a pause of silence before John replied, “Yes Kenneth, I do.”

“Text Marlee, tell her to meet us at the hotel.” Kenny said before he walked out of the door to assess the damage online on his computer. John also added on that Kenny knew and is disappointed in them.

A good 20 minutes later the bus rolled into the hotel parking lot and the boys soon met up with Marlee in the lobby. She had sat in one of the chairs also looking up the damage when she saw John and Kenny had arrived. She got up and smiled in a bittersweet way when John came up to her while Kenny went to go check in and she also happened to get a quick read on Kenny’s face, John was right he did look like he wasn’t happy with them. She doesn’t blame him as she is pretty dissappointed in herself for having made this mistake.

‘To bad we couldn’t meet again in better circumstances.’ Marlee texted and John nodded as he signed.

‘Yeah. I have a feeling our parents are gonna find this out sooner than later.’

‘Our fans already have...My twitter is blowing up.’ 

John then quickly checked his twitter to find his was blowing up as well, ‘Same here. I reckon half of our fans are disappointed and the other understanding that we just made a mistake.’ 

‘Yeah, knowing both Hollywood and Nashville though, most of them would probably eat us alive.”

John chuckled soberly and nodded, he knew she will probably be right about that. By now Kenny walked over to let them know the rooms were ready and how he got another one for Marlee. The two just followed Kenny into the boys room in silence behind Kenny, having a sense of the calm before the storm that would be their parents. and in John’s case, his wife as well. 

John and Marlee ended up sitting on one of the bed a few minutes later as Kenny started to ask them more questions about the night three years ago. John noticed that Kenny was calmer, but still upset at them for even thinking of doing this, “How did this even start?”

Marlee was at the moment resting her head on John’s shoulder, not particularly caring right then at the moment that she didn’t understand what exactly Kenny was saying while John was explaining everything, from how they felt sparks flying between each other the first few weeks to going to the bar together. He didn’t leave any detail that wouldn’t be classified as tmi out. After John was finished Kenny than silently sat down on John’s other side, not really saying anything for a couple of minutes. John and Marlee could feel the awkwardness in the air and the magnitude of what they did weighing down on them.

Kenny eventually wrote something up on his phone and showed it to Marlee as he spoke, “Your life has changed drastically now, as I’m sure you are aware.”

It was only a few hours that the two received the fated call from their parents, or well in Marlee’s case via text. It was 2 hours before John and Kenny were to perform, at 10 pm, and they have to go down there soon and prepare. Marlee was just going to rest in her room while the concert went on and probably most likely sleep. That was the plan anyways assuming that their parents didn’t call to chew them out and decided to wait until the next day. They were expecting it sooner than later and they were both dreading the call, anxious to get it over with.

It was only 7pm when John’s wife called and basically started yelling at him. It was loud enough for Kenny to hear, Marlee was also busy texting back and forth with her parents so he decided to give them their privacy and slip out. He could hear the muffled voices coming through the door even after he closed it, that’s how loud both John and his dad were being. He hoped there weren’t be too many noise complaints. He had a feeling the people who would overhear in the rooms nearby might feel awkward though, the walls here don’t look like they were all that thick.

Kenny only went down to the hotel bar and order a drink as he began thinking of what to do next, surely they would have to address the situation sooner or later publicly. Plus their PR staff and Marlee’s agent was probably going to chew John and Marlee out for this. He knew about half of their fanbase was not going to be happy with what John did and mostly likely lose some of them. It wasn’t really a good feeling to have, he knows that was a part of being a singer you gain fans and sometimes you lose fans, but with something like this you’re guaranteed to lose some of them. The action has been done and it is what it is, he just hopes they would understand that he is supportive of John no matter what. His fans probably would though.

A hour later he decided to head back, noting the time on his phone was the time he and John was suppose to be heading down to the venue, but obviously that might not happen until a bit later. He took the elevator up to the floor and walked down the hallway, he couldn’t hear any more yelling so that meant most likely John was done with his phone call.

Kenny opened the door to find the two laying on top of the bed, snuggled close to each other with Marlee resting her head on on John’s shoulder, “My wife just happened to be browsing the internet tonight….she wants a divorce, I don’t blame her I would divorce myself too.”  
Kenny nodded, “This is the consequences when you commit adultery,”

“I know, I know Kenneth,” John said signing as he rubbed Marlee’s back a bit. He didn't like how that word sounded when Kenny said, like it was the dirtiest and biggest sin he could;ve committed outside of hurting someone, and he’d like to think that he and Marlee just simply made a one night mistake, but the harsh truth was that what he did. What they both did “And considering we both have kids…”

Kenny was now sitting on the other bed across from the other bed, “You screwed up royally, but I think you two can redeem yourself.”

“You think so?” John asked softly as he looked at his friend.

“Yes, we all make mistakes, we’re all human, I know you John for a long time, and from what I know of Marlee too you both are great to be around. Friendly, hardworking and loyal people who tries to help other people in need. I know you two care about the people that are close to you. I realize this was just an one time slip up, a major slip up you’re going to live with for the rest of your life...all you can do is just learn from this, own up to your mistake and not do it again.”

“I don’t think Marlee heard you, she’s deaf Kenny,” John laughed lightly as Kenny just remembered that little fact and wrote out what he said pretty much on the stationary on the table. Marlee couldn’t help but giggle as well from his reaction.

\-------------------------

It was the next day and the news of the scandal broke out virtually, half of their fans were in a uproar while the other half were more understanding while the media in both Hollywood and Nashville were having a field day with it. The two couldn’t even been seen in public without the paparazzi following them and bombarding them with questions about the scandal. All the people online calling him and Marlee less than desirable descriptions wasn’t helping either. Needlessly to say it was stressing them all out.

The three were on the bus on the way towards their next concert, though they weren’t driving at the moment as the bus was getting fueled up at a gas station. Marlee was resting in the bedroom while the boys were in the living room when John’s phone chimed with a new call.

John picked it up with a sense of dread that only got stronger when he saw the number, “Oh great its my dad.” He closed his eyes and signed, mentally preparing himself for the scolding of the century he was sure to receive. He opened his eyes and put the phone up to his ear. It was safe to say he was dreading this call.

Kenny decided to go outside to John privacy, he could feel the thick tension in the air. It was so thick he could cut it and make a steak from it. No doubt John and his dad might start yelling, the two tend to be loud when they got into an argument as he was a witness to one occasion. That time though wasn’t as bad as this one was probably going to be. 

Kenny ended up leaning up against the side of the bus when his wife called him a few minutes later. He grabbed his phone and took the call as he walked down the road a bit in front of the tour bus.

“Hey Christiev, I’m guessing you heard huh?”

“Yep read it online, most of the country fanbase are being vicious about this, but then again it is to be expected.”

“Yeah, and John’s dad just called him, I can already hear faint noises coming from the bus.” Kenny said, chuckling which caused Christiev to laugh along lightly too.

“Yelling already? Haha Jim reminds me of my dad when he is yelling at some idiot management on the phone,” Christiev paused for a second before adding on, “My dad yells like John’s but with more cussing.”

“Ha! I can vouch for that.” Kenny laughed with a smile on his face,

“So how Marlee and John handling all of this?”

“Stressed and they feel guilty for having made the mistake in the first place.”

“I can understand why, doesn’t make what they did right though, but it was obviously an accident and everyone screws up every now and then...who am I to judge? They really did screwed up their family life thats for sure…”

“Yeah, I’m trying to think of a way to just lay low...until this whole thing gets blown over.” Kenny said as he walked over by the door and can hear the muffled yelling coming from inside.  
“Probably a good idea, what exactly are you thinking?”

Kenny paused for a second to get his thoughts on the plan together, even though it was really more of a rough outline then a detailed plan. He wanted to continue the concerts and everything, John did too, but he thought right now a break would be good right for them, “Well I don’t want to cancel the rest of the tour so I was thinking do the last 4 and then stay at my parents place or something...you can fly up with the boys.”

“Have to suggested this to them?”

“Not yet…” Kenny was then interrupted by a door opening to reveal John running over to him as he shouted his name.

“Kenny...Kenny, you know how Marlee had a bit of a drug problem back in the 80’s? She found your stash in the bedroom.”

“What….” Kenny said before realizing he still was on the phone with Christiev so he quickly told her that he’ll speak to her later before he turned to face John. He can remember coming across a few articles that talked about her drug use in the past when he was doing the research, “I'll have to hang up Chris I'll talk to you later. John what did you say?"

"She found your marijuana Kenny, she's getting high right now in the back and you can blame my dad for this." 

"What happened?" Kenny queried as the two walked back inside. The tour bus was nearly done anyways with fueling up so it wasn't long after they got on that they were now going down the road.

"He was yelling so loud that Marlee can pick up some of things he was saying...he was implying shit about her and...and the whole thing...the whole scene just stressed her and she wanted to relax," John explained as he walked around the carpet a bit, moving his hands around for emphasis while Kenny stood near the couch and listened, "I'm pissed at my dad Kenneth...do you realize it's been 27 years since she last done any kind of drugs, she broke that streak cause of my dad. My dad did that cause he implied that she was a young pretty thing who wears skimpy clothes that gets so often depicted nowadays in country music and I was trying to tell him that it wasn't like that at all...my dad can rip me apart, I sure as deserved it, I don't blame him for that, in fact I was very much expecting that..."

"But you didn't want him to say anything about Marlee?"

"Exactly! That and I'm pissed off as hell that he stressed her out this much! And me...but mostly her. Resent him for that and for what he said earlier....no one disrespects her in front of me...." John trail off at the end there as he realized something as he took a glance towards Marlee in the back. The door was open and he could se Marlee lying down on the bed. The feelings he was suppressing for three years were sneaking up on him again. He never did completely got over his feelings for Marlee, “I still have feelings for her don’t I?”

“From the rant you just did, yes sounds like you do.”

John then paused in silence for a minute or two before nodding softly, “Yeah...they never really went away, just laid there dormant apparently. So we end up getting together after this whole thing blows over…”

“Do whatever makes you happy John, I’ll always support you….provided its something reasonable of course.” Kenny said as he smiled while John chuckled at the last part of the sentence. The two proceeded to walk into the room to see that Marlee was awake, Kenny noticed that she also had found his pipe, it was on the bed besides her.

John quickly wrote out a message on the notepad on his phone while Kenny looked at the bad and surmised she didn’t used that much. John then gave the phone to Marlee to read.

“Relaxed…” She said in her speaking voice as she still stared at the ceiling in a pot filled haze. She had almost forgotten how it felt to be high, it had been a long time since she smoked weed. Kenny took the phone from John’s hand and added more under what John put before showing the screen to her.

‘I want to be upfront, you’re not thinking of going back to doing cocaine or heroin?’

Marlee took the phone and shook her head, looking up at Kenny, when she read the message before replying underneath it.

‘Don’t like needles’

“How much did she smoke?” John asked as Kenny read the reply before he turned to him.

“Not a whole lot, enough to be affected for at least a hour, maybe two I don’t know..” Kenny answered as he took another glance at Marlee as John laid down besides her and she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled close, “It varies….”

Kenny closed up the little bag of weed and put it somewhere near his bags before laying down on the other side of the bed, Silence passed between the three of them for a good ten minutes, the only sound that can be hear was the bus going down the road. John and Marlee would looking at each, smiling and Marlee spoke instead of the usual texting, telling him that he looked quite the sexy cowboy before giving a kiss on his cheek. 

‘Let me guess, you never gotten over your feelings for me haven’t you?’ John wrote on his phone for Marlee and confirmed it when she replied back that a part of her had always missed him.

‘Part of me never stopped loving you.’ Marlee replied with a smile, mentally thanking God that she’ll be able to pursue this relationship, but at the same time heartbroken to lose her marriage and possibly her family in the process.

A year later it was John that seemed to get the seemingly worse end of the divorce, he was pretty much a single dad now as his ex wife didn’t want anything to do with him after his cheating with Marlee. Plus his dad seemed less supportive and forgiving compared to Marlee’s family and her now ex husband, with whom the divorce experience was more amicable too. She also had joint custody of her kids

“I think it’ll be a while before my dad fully forgives me, I know my mother does.” John said one day, watching his sons playing a video game on the tv. Kenny was there with his guitar as they were working on a song. They haven’t really worked on it much though in the last hour and a half Kenny was there. Marlee was off in downtown Nashville doing a film.

Kenny stopped his strumming and looked at John, Christiev was there too to help with the kids, currently swimming in the pool with the Matlin kids, “Yeah. I’m also amazed, but not surprised, at how quickly the media and the Internet forgot about the scandal…”

“I’m happy about that, sooner they forget and went on to their normal old lives the better.”

“Just forgive and forget and the world will still go madly on.” Kenny smiled, causing John to chuckle.

“Yeah, speaking of which theres a couple of morons from your Alphin Development Corporation days you should tell that too…” 

“Was it on twitter or facebook?” Kenny asked, used to seeing the rare comment on either one of the social site from a disgruntled former client of his that claimed he ripped them off somehow. Kenny always signs and just rolled his eyes at them, clearly they didn’t really understood the whole Saving and Loans scandal, in other words it was completely out of his hands.

“Email.”

:”Your personal email/?”

“Yep. They somehow found it and I guess those fuckers didn’t realize they were sending their rant filled long ass email to the wrong person!”

“They didn’t look close enough, our emails are different.”

“Yeah, I think they were drunk too...it was really amusing, lots of profanity and insults...” John shared, letting out a laugh, “I simply told them to just get over it, it was 30 years ago.

Kenny laughed and clapped his hands together softly, “Nicely done.”

“Thanks.”

“So hows dating an actress going?”

“Going great, its weird...when I was married to my ex wife I felt the happiness I ever been, with Marlee its the same, but with Marlee its...I dunno….”

“You have room in your heart for both John, its like how that one song of ours goes...you never stop loving someone..” Kenny started to sing and play the guitar, the three kids in the living room stopped for a minute to listen, “...even when you find somebody new…”

“I know that Kenneth and I do…” John signed as he tried to put together what he is feeling to words he can accurately use, “You know how I said to you that Joan was my soulmate, that I felt like she was my other half?”

“Yeah, I remember you saying that.”

“Its the same with Marlee, and at an earlier point in time too...”

“Well just to honestly point out you did end up cheating on Joan which tells me that the thought of cheating crossed your mind.”

“I know that Kenneth, I never thought I would end up cheating on her, until Marlee that is….I would never, ever, as long as I’m alive on God’s green earth cheat on Marlee,” John stated before continuing on, “Love can sure be complicated as hell.”

“Thats for sure.”

“How did you handle going through divorce with Karen?”

“Hmmm pretty well relatively speaking, I still talk to her sometimes.”

“Oh, that’s the case with Marlee’s ex husband. He was only disappointed and angry for only a little bit and forgave her in weeks time, Joan is probably gonna hate me and hold a grudge like those formal moron clientele of yours for years to come.”

“Yeah haha….I remember going to this bar to have a drink to forget reality for a while after the divorce was finalize, like the day it was actually processed and Karen was at the bar herself for the same reason I was there.”

John laughed, “Awkward I imagine.”

Kenny shrugged, “Not really, we both felt divorce was the way to go, we were better off as friends. Christiev and her first husband on the other hand….”

“They would rather punch each other’s lights out I’m guessing?”

“Yep.” Kenny plainly said as John let out a laugh, “Karen actually met him once somewhere in Maryland, sended me a text afterwards saying she could see why my wife divorced his ass proceeded to tell me that she is doing better being married to me and that she can vouch for that. She also told me that her husband, she also got married again like I did, her husband ended up punching him out cause he was being a drunken douchebag in her words.”

“Wow hahaha. Well I know I’m going to be a faithful husband to Marlee when the time comes....ever since we started dating privately a month after the news broke I...well it feels like we’re already married by this point.”

“Well you know you already have my blessing to get married so go for it.”

“I know thanks, you’ve been a great friend during all of this Kenny, you and the others. Now I want to get her parents blessing,” John added the last part after he paused for a second. 

The boys then went back to working on the song and were able to get most of the lyrics down in a way that they both liked before they heard the door opening to reveal Marlee, the shooting for the day having had wrapped up early. She looked visibly happy though to have the rest of the day off and John commented on that as she greeted him with a smile while sitting down next to him. John hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before he showed her the song they were working on.

That night the two were in bed sitting up as they were watching a Doctor Who episode on a dvd that John had. There were quite a few new things she learned about John ever since they became an item, a massive sci fi fan and Whovian was one of them. John told her that the beginning was slow at first, but it wasn’t that long before she too got sucked into it enough to enjoy watching it overall with him.

Also in the year that John and Marlee have been dating, she was teaching him to be fluent in ASL, he impressed her by picking it up very well. He can also attribute having her kids help with practice using it whenever Marlee wasn’t around on a week the kids were with her. The two were also working on getting John’s boys up to speed on using sign language too. 

John at point paused the dvd when they were on the third episode and sat up to face her so she could see him sign, ‘I got something on my mind….”  
‘Anything wrong?” Marlee signed back with a concern look, but John shook his head. It had to do more with their relationship and wanting to take it further as John felt like they’ve been dating for years now.

‘Everything is fine its...we’ve been dating officially for a year right?...’

‘Yeah we have, a year give or take a month, but yeah.’

‘Well….does it feel like we’ve been together for more than that to you as it does to me? I know I sound like I’m getting too ahead of myself...probably am but...’ John paused as he was still unsure of what Marlee would think of wanting to get married so soon. He had a good feeling that she was sure she wanted to marry him, but how much of that was his observations and not wishful thinking? He didn’t want to screw things up and she might want to date a little longer still.

‘You want to take things further?’

‘Yeah….I don’t know about you though, we can still continue to date and forget I was ever an idiot bringing this up.’ John signed as he laughed softly as the last part, eliciting a smile from Marlee.

‘Well….it certainly feels like we’ve been dating for 21 years, married for ten.’ Marlee chuckled as she gave him a smile and looked at him with her blue eyes that managed to shine through the moonlight that came through from the window and the tv light. She hoped that John would get the meaning behind the sentence.

Marlee didn’t have to worry about being more blunt as John smiled and signed, asking her if what she just said what he thought she said. Marlee nodded and laughed when John let out a joyful laugh before he signed back to Marlee.

‘Now cause I’m a good old boy from Texas, I want to ask your parents for their blessing to marry you..’

‘Awww thats sweet, they’ll say yes though they like you. They just want me to be happy...which I am. I’m the happiest girl alive with you.’

John smiled, ‘And you’re the only cowgirl for me. You’re the companion to my Doctor.’ He added as he laid back down, Marlee giggled softly before she smiled as she laid on her side and looked at John, who was looking back at her.   
‘How soon do you want to marry?” John signed a minute later.

‘Hmm, perhaps this fall or early next year. We’ll have to keep this whole thing from getting out into the media.’ Marlee pointed out and John agreed. They knew that would be a good thing for a variety of reasons.

The two snuggled closed to each other with their arms wrapped around one another and kissed deeply before Marlee rested her head on his chest in his hold as they continued watching Doctor Who, both feeling bittersweet about how their life has turned out.


End file.
